Well, we can't understand the motives, because Trump won't tell us, and even if he did, it's not like we shouldn't be skeptical of whatever he might say.
I do think another plausible explanation is that Trump has dictator envy and idolizes Putin, and so he tries to emulate him and do things that would make him happy.
But it's not clear how far something like that would go. I think it's reasonable to suspect that Putin has something that he can use as leverage over Trump, but that's of course near-impossible to prove at this point.
I do think another plausible explanation is that Trump has dictator envy and idolizes Putin, and so he tries to emulate him and do things that would make him happy.
But it's not clear how far something like that would go. I think it's reasonable to suspect that Putin has something that he can use as leverage over Trump, but that's of course near-impossible to prove at this point.